New Delhi, June 29, 2020: Members of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church in Kerala have approached the Supreme Court for permission to intervene in the Sabarimala review case before a Constitution Bench. The nine-judge Bench is poised to decide “larger questions” of what constitutes religious freedom under Article 25 ofContinue Reading
Thiruvananthapuram, June 24,2020: Kerala police have registered a case against activist Rehana Fathima after a video of her two children drawing on her half-naked body started circulating on social media. The police registered a case, under Section 67 (electronically transmitting sexually explicit content) of IT Act, and Section 75 (punishmentContinue Reading
By Dr. George Jacob Kochi, Dec 13, 2019: Kerala witnesses one of the biggest pilgrimages of the country in the winter months of November and December. Thousands undertake their annual pilgrimage to the hill shrine of Sabarimala. Only men and children undertake the pilgrimage. No woman belonging to the childbearingContinue Reading
By Dr. George Jacob. Kochi, Feb. 19, 2018: On September 28 2018, the Indian Supreme Court threw ‘tradition and custom’ to the wind by allowing women of all ages to worship at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, where until then, only women between 10 and 50 years could worship, besidesContinue Reading
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 5, 2018: Amid heightened security and a renewed verbal battle, the Sabarimala hill temple in Kerala opened on November 5. However, the shrine in Pathanamthitta district remained inaccessible to women between 10 and 50 years of age despite the state government’s offer of protection. Video footage of aContinue Reading
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 28, 2018: An ashram in Kerala, founded by a preacher who supported the Supreme Court verdict allowing the entry of women of menstruating age to the famous Sabarimala temple, was attacked by unidentified persons early October 27. Two cars and a scooter belonging to Swami Sandeepananda Giri’s SchoolContinue Reading
Allapuzha, Oct 22, 2018: Activist Rehana Fathima, who attempted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Sabarimala temple on Friday, has been expelled from the Muslim community. The Kerala Muslim Jama’ath Council has directed the Ernakulam Central Muslim Jama’ath (CMJ) to expel Rehana and her family. A Poonkunju, the CouncilContinue Reading
Menstruation and being unclean have nothing to do with restriction for women’s entry into SabarimalaContinue Reading
Tagging a woman’s right to enter the famous Sabarimala temple with her menstrual cycle is unreasonable, the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench observed on July 18. The Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, asked whether the exclusion of women aged between 10 and 50 from entering a templeContinue Reading
What is Makara Jyothi and Makaravilakku ? A celestial star known as Makara Jyothi is seen every year on 14th January. On this day, every year thousands of pilgrims from all over the country visit Sabarimala. The Government of Kerala receives huge revenue from these pilgrimages during their visit toContinue Reading